WARBRINGER DO SHIT RIGHT ON WAKING INTO NIGHTMARES
Thursday, July 9th, 2009 at 12:00pm by Anso DF
When people talk about neo-thrash bands like Warbringer, their words usually carry a subtle hint of disdain. I concede that it’s hard not to mention what they are (neo-Bay Area Thrash) before saying how good they are (very). But to brand Warbringer (or Municipal Waste) fetishizers of a bygone era implies something vaguely untrustable, beyond a mere affection for the Thrash idiom. And it’s true, there’s little about Warbringer that suggests an original vision. All the same, their debut full-length War Without End and now the Gary Holt-produced Waking Into Nightmares are too awesome to be the creation of some tribute band; it’s simply not possible that Warbringer is comprised of five masters of mimicry. Rather, it’s clear they feel that Bay Area-native bands did shit right. And now they do.
But it wasn’t until now that any of this could be firmly argued. War Without End came out just last year, but Warbringer is already eons tighter, heavier, and catchier than twelve months and like 70,000 shows ago. There’s no shortage of energy at any moment of Nightmares‘ 40, which says a lot about the work of a band showing no aversion to unhurried instrumental passages. It also speaks volumes about vocalist John Kevill (both kill and evil appear in his name – that rules), who spends much of Nightmares setting up two guitarists both clearly enjoying a hot streak. The instant it was announced that Gary Holt (Exodus) would produce, we could draw conclusions with some accuracy about the sound (like the last few Exodus records), but Nightmares is equally defined by stylistic nods to Kreator and deranged, speedy Iron Maiden-isms.
And when we talk about energy, it’s the little touches: After the first chorus on “Forgotten Dead,” out rips a furious mini-solo a la “E.vil N.ever D.ies.” (Speaking of solos, at least three of them sound downright celebratory despite Nightmares’ unrelentingly bleak tone.) Meanwhile, Ben Bennett’s dissonant, honking bass on “Abandoned By Time” makes me think less of Tom Araya. In fact, Bennett is the band’s new secret weapon, turning in a couple tasteful solos (!) and John Tardy-esque vocals (!!) on “Shadow From The Tomb.” Elsewhere, eerie instrumental “Nightmare Anatomy” might’ve appeared on Forbidden’s Twisted Into Form or, minus the always-soloing Alex Skolnick, The New Order by Testament. But Warbringer’s closest relative may be Sweden’s The Crown, with whom they share a knack for emphatic performance of mega-riffs. After all, great metal bands like Warbringer live and die by their riffs. So will I.
(4 of 5 horns)
-ADF
Anso DF is now celebrating more than one year of petty tantrums and anti-Ulrich slander on the daily metal news column Hipsters Out Of Metal!
4/5 looks a lot like 1/5. Your Images are all fucked up! Just thought you should know.
Time to invest in a physical copy of this album I think
I really don’t know what the hype about this band is, to me they just sound like a wanna be Slayer. In my opinion, this is NOT good thrash.
While I agree with you somewhat, having come of age in the early Eighties and having cut my teeth on the birth of Thrash, I’ve really, really MISSED Thrash. Sure, there have been elements of Thrash in a lot of sub-and-microgenres over the years but I’ve really missed the excitement of great NEW Thrash Metal. And none of the standard-bearers from back in the day have done anything significant in about fifteen years.
While many of these “neo” Thrash acts are just aping what was done better years ago, some acts are really injecting new vitality and unique personality into the mix and getting it right. Warbringer is one of those few. Sometimes I listen to them and get irritated that it seems like they’re just ripping off Slayer. And other times I think, “Fuck, this is some killer shit. Just like I remember.”
Yeah, it’s been done. It’s ALL been done. But that doesn’t mean a band can’t come along and do it well again. Warbringer does it well.
perfectly stated, thrash brother.
Pretty solid retro thrash. Nothing new here, but it’s good workout music.
amazing band. have you seen their shirt designs? that shit is too metal
i know this sound like slayer and what not, but slayer has slowly been getting worse and worse.
i still fucking love them though, no doubt.
these guys are just kinda picking it back up.
but they will never replace slayer
A Great album, deserves praising.
These guys are creative in a lot of ways, although some say they are just like other Thrash bands, but that’s not true.
It’s boring as hell compared to their debut.
Man I thought I was the only other person who thought that.
fuck…I hate using the same word twice in a sentence. Sorry…personal pet peeve.
Quit trying to compare them to other bands. Enjoy the album for what it is. These guys are tight, and the album is good.
good album, they have their riffs down, all play realy well, high energy show, think about thier is only so many notes on a guitar and you play a note up down left and right and its still the same note!
so stop bashing cause its a style thats been done before but what music has not been done that way
listen to blues ,dam they play the same 3 cords over and over and bend the same 3 notes over in over
so i think for what it is, it does a pretty good job of makin my day fly bye!